Cigarette lighter



T. E. lKolsTz CIGARETTE LIGHTER June 20, 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 FiledAug. 1, 1946 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 @mwN T. E. KOETZ CIGARETTE LIGHTER i June20, 1950 Filed Augl" 1946 June 20, 1950 T. E. KoETz CIGARETTE LIGHTER 4Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Aug. l, 1946 rrrrrrrrr/ June 20, 1950 T. E. KoETzCIGARETTE LIGHTER Filed Aug. 1, 1946 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented June 20,1950 UNITED S'IATIES PATENT OFFICE l 2,512,104

Y CIGARETTE LIGHTER f Theodore E..Koetz`, Rochester, N. Y. ApplicationAugust 1, 1946, serial No. 687,676

, rette or cigar lighter.l While the cigarette lighter of myinventionhas been'shown and will be described as apocketlighten it will beunderstood that the principlesl thereof maybe incorporated in table orother models of such lighters.'

An object ofV- my invention is to provide a practical and dependableiinger operated lighter which may be manufactured at a reasonable cost.Another object of invention is to incorporate in a 'cigarette or 'cigarlighter, whichl may be operated with the fingers of one'hand, a dualignition unit to thus render the lighter' more reliable inuse.

A further object of my invention is to provide a dual ignitionlighter'wherein means are provided vfor protecting the dualA flamesthereof against being extinguished by the wind thereby to render thelighter suitable and reliablefo'rfuse while driving orengaged in otheroutdoor*` activities under which` conditions many conventional types oflighters areunreliable inuse My invention further contemplatesv theprovision of a'dual ignition lighter yin which means are provided forcreating a forced ldraft 'which carries. the sparks from thepyrophoricvvelemen'ts to the wicks and facilitates ignition thereoftothe end that the .lighteri's positively ignited and is thus morereliable in operation. y Other objects and advantages ofthe novel'cigarettelighter of my invention will be particularly set forth in theclaims and will be apparent from the following description, whentakeninconnection with the accompanying drawingsinwhich:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the lighter of my invention vshowing theyparts in non-operating position; 4 y

Fig'. 2-is a view similar `to Fig. 1 .somewhat enlarged and showing theposition of the parts when the lighter hasbeen actuated to ignitethesame Fig. 3 is a View similar to Fig. 2 butwith the casing in sectionwhich houses the fue 1the feeding elements for the ints andthe wicks;

Fig. 44 is an end elevation of -Fig. 3; .Y y

Fig. v5 is a vertical sectional view showing` the dual ignition unit ofmy invention with the parts in their inactive position; f

Fig. 6 is a horizontal sectional view of the lighter of my invention,showing the parts in the positionwhich they occupy in the inactiveposition of Fig. 5; i 1 Fig.'v 7L is a view similar to Fig. .5y showingthe parts in their actuated' position;

Fig.- 8I is asectional y'view taken-"substantially 55 wheels.

6 Claims. (Cl. 67--7.1)

on the-line 8--3 of Fig. 5' in the direction indicated by the arrows; 1

Fig. 9 is'a sectional view taken substantially on the line 9-9 of Fig. 5in the direction indicated by the arrows; v

Fig. 10 is a side elevation showing the scratch Wheel and the clutch foroperating'the same;

' Fig. 11 is a sectional view taken substantially on the line |I'-II ofFig. 10; v 'f Fig. 12 is a side elevation of one of the ngeractuatedelements for operating the lighter;

Fig. 13 is a top plan View of Fig. 12;

Fig. '14 is a side elevation of the xed part of the lighter in which thesliding parts operate;

Fig. 15 is a top plan view of Fig. 14;

Fig-"16 is a side elevation ofthe lighter with the wall of the outercasing removed to show the operating mechanism forfcontrolling theopening and closing of the wind shields, theparts being yshown ininactive position; I

Fig. 17'is a view similar to Fig. 16 with the' parts shown infactuatedposition; f

Fig. 1 8 is a side elevation of one of the wind shields; t r Y I Fig. 19is a bottom View of Fig. 18; and

Fig. 20 is an end viewof Fig. 18. As shown most rclearlyin Fig-'3,' the'lighter ofmy invention comprisesa casing, generally indicated by thenumeral? 26, and a casing 21 which is secured to the casing 26 in anysuitable manner as'by solder 28 (Fig. 8).? The casing 26 houses theusual cotton 4or other material 2!!l which is saturated withthe usuallighter fuel. The bottom of the casing 26 is open, as shown at 3|, andis closed lby a cover 32 which is telescoped over the side walls of thecasing 26. Any suitable means such as an annular bead 33 may beprovided'to indicate the level to which fuel should be placed in thecover 3.2 prior to inserting the body of the lighter yin the cover. Thismethod of filling the lighter prevents the flints from gettingv wet andthe wicks from being loversaturated with fluid. y

The casing 26 also houses a pair of tubular elements 34 whichare'rigidly Isecured, as shown at 36, to the top wall 310i the housing26. A pyrophoric element 38 is carried'in each of the tubes 34 and eachis urged by a' spring 39 into pressure frictional engagement with atoothed scratch wheel 4I (Figs. 5, 6, 8 and 10). The lower ends of thetubesl are threaded'to receive plug screws 42 through which `pressure isapplied on the springs 39 to urge thepyrophoric elements 38 intopressure 'engagement with the scratch The casing 26 also encloses a pairof Wicks 43 which are preferably intertwined through the casing so as toabsorb fuel from the saturated cotton. The wicks extend through openings44 in the top wall 31 of the casing into the casing 21, as shown mostclearly in Fig. 5. Upon removal of the cover 32 the parts within thecasing 26, including the wicks are accessible and ease of filling thecasing with fuel is obtained.

The casing- 21 5')- has side-.walls 41 and .a top wall 481 While thecasing 21` mayl be rectangular in Vertical section, I prefer to form thecasing in the shape shown. ends of the casing are open, as shownated-9', and the top wall has an enlarged opening l, the purpose ofwhich will later appear.

Mounted within the casingv v2 1 is a. fixed sup.- porting and guidingmember 52 which is secured by means of screws 55 to the top wall 31- ofthe casing 26. The xed guide member '52 is shown dearly' Fics. 1li` and'115.' and comprises the bottom wall 53 and side WaIlsSL. 'The' sidewalls .here ai plurality et. airfopenings .5% therein.. the ionetieningor which will Later appear The side Walls 54 further have guide slots511:, openings 58; and-eutfoutnertiens 591. thel purposes of which willalso presently appear..

The bottom and to the position shown in Fig 5, the springs seating onthe seat elements 63 (Fig. 15) and bearing against the end walls 16 ofthe actuators 13.

As shown most clearly in Fig. 6, the pins 84 are adapted to be receivedin openings in a slide 815. The slides I8G ride on the upper surface ofthe xed guide 52 (Figs. 14 and 15). Each slide has an elongated s1ot181which extends vfrom the forward edge 88 thereof to enable the slide toclear the pyrophoric elements; the screws `55 and the wicks as shownmost clearly in Fig. '7. The slides are further provided with racks 189adapted to mesh with the pinions 61 which drive the scratch Wheels (Fig.8). It will be appreciated that uponoperation of the actuators by thengers, the slidesare driven toward each other to rotate Vthe -pinionaand the-scratch wheels.

bottom wad. 53` of the fixed guide. inA ,addif tion to theopeningso1',the Ascrews. 5:5, has openities Et ier thepsmciiericfelements and .openings 6.1 through whieh .the wicksvestend.The ends of the flxedgude are provided seat elemente 53 ,for the`reception v0i SpringsA '64 (Eig. 5ft- Referring-210.49 Fiss. 8.,. .10.and 11,. a pair' 0f shafts 68 are earrieeirigidls the openings 58 ostileiixed guide 52- with respect t0 the Shaft: iS a. Sleeve: 5&- yAgefi-r eipinierisfl are rigidwith reseeetto the Sleeve whereby' upon rotation ofthe pinions f1i, the. spider 68, integral with. the sleeve 65,:of ,a@liuto-h; illustrated infiss- 10 and 11 is rotated.,v Each of the;clutch-esy inetudes a plurality et .spring pnessedprcllers' which lie inwedge shaped openings 1| between the spider and en annuler eine 1,2:which carries the scratch wheel The, clutches are of aconventioneltyoe.. Well known in the art. te@ enable the scratch Wheelsto be rotated the. direction indicated. by the arrow A.. Fia 1.01 andupon reverse rotation ofthe pinions Si the drive between@ thespiilerl 68and the annular ring 12 is disconnected Seas to per-.mit reverserotation: of the minions 61 withouty rotatingK the 'Scratch wheels, 4I.v v

Mounted on opposite sides of the lighter, as shown in Figs. 1 andV 3,kane a pairA o atuators 13, which aref adapted to. bemoved invii-ard,l asillustrated in; Fig. 2 uponbeing pressed;V by the thumb and forenger ofthe user;y Each of the actuators. es Shown in Fiss- 1.2` emi13.inc1-udes e top weibl; 14;. an end wall 16| and Side walls H and 1d..The side wall 111i is cut of; at an angle, as shown at 19 and the sidewall thasA an extension' Sil which; is toothed as: shown at- 8 2.- Theactuators are rie-ht and letti1-land and eppesitelr arranged to enablethe extensions 8d toy clear each other' when the parts Aare in thepostion shownzin Eig. 7*., The, actuator illustrated in Figs. lf2: and;13; is` for the rightside of; the:- li'ghter, as viewed in Fis. 5. Theactuators; are provided with. openings 8:3; for the` reception of guidepins sli adapted to.v ride in the; slots 51-v of' the fixed guides: 5.2(Figs- 5. and i4). Springs 64, norurge .ti-ie actuators in an outwarddirection away from each; @their The lighter is provided with a pair ofwind shields 9| which are pivoted on pins 92 carried by the casing 21.They pins 92 extend through the cut-outsy 59mv the fixed guide 52 (Fig.14) and' through openings formed in the side walls of the casing 2-1..The construction of the wind shields` isshownJ-niost clearlyin Figs. 18,19, and 2o: and each includes a top wall 93 which forms the closure forthe lighterA openings and a. pair of side walls. 94 and 95. Each of the.side walls is provided with aA plurality of airV openings 91 and thesidewall 94 is extended on the are of a circle, as` shown at 98e. lThisextended portonis, provided with. teeth` 99 adapted toVA mesh with theteeth V82:01 the extension .8l (Figs. 12 and 13),.

In Figs.` 16 and 17 the outer wall of the casing 21 has been removed toshow the operation of the wind shields. lit,y will be appreciated thatthe wind shields are. right and left and that-la correspondingstructure. appears on the other side. of the lighter reversed from ltheposition shown in Figs. lfand 17V.,

It will bg. apparent, upon. operation of theac.-4 tuatorsy by the,thumb, and forenger,l that the teeth of the extension. 18.1, throughtheir engagement theteeth 19,9.` of the wind shields. causes the wind.shields to sluit lfrom the position shown in Fig. 16 to that shown inFig. 11 to enable the user tor .extenda cigar or @cigarette between thewind shields into proximity tothe names of burning. gases above thewicks.

It will be appreciated that the wind shields,.to gather with theyadjacent parts of the casing protect the. ,llames against beingextinguishedby .the wind, the Openings. 91 inthe wind Shields and thecasing side walls, permitting. access of enough air to. supportcombustion. y

Froml Fig.6 it will be apparent that the side walls 911 and Vlili of thewind shields lie between the outer walls of the casing and the xed guide52. The extensions Bl carrying the teeth 82 which mesh with the. teeth99 of the wind shields also operate in these spaces. At will be clearfrom an examinationof Fig. 16, the air openings 91 in the sidewalls ofthe casing 21 and the air openings 56' in the xed guide register witheach other. However when the wind shields are closed, communicationbetween the two sets of openings is lcut off as indicated irl-Fig. 16.When the parts areA moved from the' position shown in Fig. 16l to thatshown in Fig. 17, the openings in the casing and in thexed guideregister with each other to enable access of some air to the Hainesthrough these openings and also through the openings in the windshields.

One. of' the;v important. features of the lighter of my invention thefact' thata dual ignition syst-erin,Y is provided. Upon inwardV pressingof the animos sf; actuators and 'actuation of the scratch wheels twosparks are thrown inward toward the wicks so that; either V`or bothwicks are lighted. If,desired, a single `wick might be employed, thesparks from bothscratch wheelsrbeing directed toward y,the wickj*whicnwould then, beA preferably centrally located with respect to the.scratch wheels.L With dual ignition the reliabilityof the`lighterirl-yoperation is `assured. l l

'.,f Another feature of the lighter of my invention lies in the factthatthe casing 21 is substantially closed at its ends and the wind shieldsare closed whenthe parts are in theposition shownv in Fig.-

'.: The ends of the casingaresubstantially'closed bythe actuators 13 andthe slides i86. Thuswhen the :actuators are pressed inward, the airspace within the casing 21 is decreased so astcforce a blast of air fromboth sides inwardly over the pyrophoric elements and toward the wicks.This materially aids in enabling the wicks to be ignited by the sparksand aids in directing the sparks toward the wicks. During the initialportion of the actuation, the wind shield is substantially closed. As itgradually opens, it permits a ow of air over the wicks and out throughthe wind shields. However, during the initial blast of air across thewicks, the opening through the wind shields is somewhat restricted so asto increase the effectiveness of the blast of lair directed upon thewicks.

It will be appreciated that the springs 64 restore the actuators to theposition of the parts shown in Fig. 5 upon release of the actuators frommanual control. At the same time, the

pinions are rotated without rotating the scratch wheels and the windshields are moved to the closed position shown in Fig. 5. Upon closing,air is substantially excluded from gaining access to the wicks and thewind shields during this period act as snuffers for the wicks.

While I have shown and described the preferred form of my invention, itwill be appreciated that various changes and modifications may be made,particularly in the form and relation of parts, without departing fromthe spirit of my invention as set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A lighter comprising, in combination, a casing having open ends, apair of actuators slidable in said casing and substantially closing saidopen ends, spring means for normally moving said actuators away fromeach other, a pair of pyrophoric members mounted in said casing, wickmeans mounted between said pyrophoric members and arranged to receivesparks therefrom, a pair of friction elements movable in frictionalengagement with said members upon pressing said actuators toward eachother with the ngers, said casing and actuators forming an enclosurewhich upon pressing the actuators inward forces a draft of air over bothpyrophoric members toward the wick means, and means-above the wick meansfor confining the air adjacent the wick means during the initial portionof the movement of the actuators.

2. A lighter comprising, in combination, a casing having open ends, apair of actuators slidable in said casing and closing said open ends,spring means for normally moving said actuators away from each other, apair of pyrophoric members mounted in said casing, wick means mountedbetween said pyrophoric members and arranged to receive sparkstherefrom, a pair v`of friction elements movable in frictionalengagement with said members upon pressing said actuators towardeachnothen l"with .r the ngers, :said casingy andn actuators forming anenclosure which uponpress-z saidopenf ends, spring means for normallymoving-said actuators away from each other, a pairofpyrophoricelementsmounted in said casing,`

means operated by said actuators'for scratching said pyrophoricelementswwick means mounted between said pyrophoric elements and:arranged to receive 'sparks therefrom upon movement of said actuators bythe fingers toward each other against the action of said spring means,said casing;v andv actuators forming an enclosure which upon pressingthe actuators inward forces la'draft,

of air over both pyrophoric elements toward the wick means, and shieldmeans arranged above said wick means and operated upon actuation of Saidactuators for conning the air adjacent the wick means during the initialportion of the movement of said actuators, said shield means moving to afully open position upon further movement of said actuators.

4. A lighter comprising, in combination, a casing having open ends, apair of actuators closing said open ends, said actuators being intelescopic relation to said casing, spring means for normally movingsaid actuators away from each other, a pair of pyrophoric elementsmounted in said casing, means operated by said actuators for scratchingsaid pyrophoric elements, wick means mounted between said pyrophoricelements and arranged to receive sparks therefrom upon movement of saidactuators by the iingers toward each other against the action of saidspring means, and shield means arranged above said wick means andoperated upon actuation of said actuators for conning the air adjacentthe wick means during the initial portion of the movement of saidactuators, said shield means moving to a fully open position uponfurther movement of said actuators to enable access to said wick means.

5. A lighter comprising, in combination, a casing having open ends, apair of actuators closing said open ends and movable telescopically withrespect thereto, spring means for normally moving said actuators awayfrom each other, a pair of pyrophoric elements mounted in said casing inthe same longitudinal plane, means operated by said actuators forscratching said pyrophoric elements, a pair of wick elements mountedbetween and in the same plane with said pyrophoric elements and arrangedto receive sparks therefrom upon movement of said actuators by thefingers toward each other against the action of said spring means, saidcasing and actuators forming an enclosure which upon pressing theactuators inward forces a draft of air over both pyrophoric elementstoward said wicks, and shield means arranged above said wicks andoperated upon actuation of said actuators for confining the air adjacentsaid wicks during the initial portion of the movement of said actuators,said shield means moving to a fully open position upon further movementof said actuators.

6. A lighter comprising, in combination, a, casing having open ends, apair of actuators closing said open ends and movable telescopically withrespect thereto-,- spring means' fol:f` normally'mmv"I ingfsaid.animators away from each. other, a: paair of? pyrophoni'c elementsmounter in. saidv` casingin. thefv same longitudinali plane, meansoperated: said' actuators for scratching; said pynophoricreiements;yapair of wick elements mounted between and in the. same. piane- Wth saidpyrophoric: elements. anniV arranged toV receive sparks therefrom uponmovement of said actuators by theingersY toward each other` against the.action ofA said spning. means, and. shield means arranged.k abtxvefsaidz wicks. andi.. operated` upon actuation of: said aetuators: forconfining. the air' adjacenty said Wicksl during the` initial portionofi the movement o said actuators, said' shieldmeans'. moving. to. a..fully open position upon further movement; of said. actuators.

REFERENCES CITED vThe following references arel of record in the file ofthis patent:

Number" j 1391654110 139213355 zgiozgsssf

